Bite-Sized Meals Make for Better Behaved Kids

Want your children to behave better? Try cutting their food into bite-sized pieces. In a study of 12 boys and girls ages 6 to 10, researchers found that children were more likely to disobey instructions and act out when fed chicken on the bone than when given the same amount of chicken in cut-up pieces. Biting with the front teeth pushes facial muscles into a position of aggression, just as a dog bares its teeth to prepare to fight. Doing this can make a child feel and behave more aggressively, the researchers say. Source:Eating Behaviors, published online April 22, 2014